Protecting the Pup
by SpencerRemyLvr
Summary: A series of stories in one place, starting with "Promises": Logan's wandering through Vegas alone, taking a break from everything, when he hears a scream. What he finds is something that'll change the course of his life forever. More characters added later.
1. Promises

**"Promises" (A One Shot)**

As much as Logan loved the countryside, even he could admit that sometimes a city was just what a guy needed. It was kind of the perfect places to lose yourself. And if you wanted to lose yourself, where better to go than a city like Las Vegas? Visiting there was always a double edged sword for the feral. It was fun—who did have fun playing around and gambling a bit?—but it was also hard on the senses. Here, Logan could lose himself a bit, hide from anyone that might be after him, at the cost of losing a little bit of himself as well. The usual noises and smells and things that could get to him in the average place was so multiplied in Vegas. He had to fight not to smell or hear or see everything around him. That left him feeling like he was moving through a fog sometimes.

He could function around it, mostly. It was a matter of focusing and filtering out all the extra stimuli. He'd trained himself to do it… he wasn't sure how long ago.

Sometimes, though, he needed just a bit of a break. So he'd head to the less crowded parts of the city and just wander, a cigar in hand, and let himself relax that iron control he had over himself.

That was what he was doing tonight. It was a cooler night for Vegas, inching down towards the lower thirties. Not too bad for January. Much better than it was a few states over, up in Oregon where Logan had been before this. He was much more content to be here than out in the snow at the moment.

The night air felt good against his face. More fresh that it did closer in to the Strip. There was still the smells of cars and people, of sweat and sex and so many other things, but it was lighter here, almost easy to dismiss. Out here he also got hints of a scent that was purely desert. Something hot and completely natural. It had him smiling as he strolled down the sidewalk. One hand was stuffed down in his pocket and the other lifted his cigar to his mouth.

For quite a long time now Logan had been wandering. He wasn't sure how long—he wasn't sure of a lot of things when it came to his past. Lately, though, the wandering hadn't been as easy as it once had. He knew why, too.

Charles Xavier. Thinking of him had Logan's lip curling up. He'd helped the man out with some problems and, in return, the guy had offered Logan a spot at his 'school for mutants'. Even if Logan had been tempted by it—and he wasn't going to admit that, hell no!, he didn't need anyone—the way that his second in command had looked at Logan made it clear what he thought of the feral, and right now Logan just wasn't in the mood to go and stay somewhere he obviously wasn't going to be wanted. Usually that'd just make it more fun; he'd have a blast picking on One-Eye. But Logan just felt, tired. So damn tired. He just wanted a little bit of peace for a while. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently it was.

The sound of a scream filled the night air and immediately put Logan on alert. He froze on the sidewalk, not caring about the people across the street who were looking at him funny for it. His eyebrows furrowed down as he turned al his focus to his hearing, trying to listen enough to catch that sound. When he heard it again, he couldn't help but growl. That wasn't a pleasure scream, or a playful scream—that was a 'dear God help me they're killing me' sort of scream. Without even thinking about it he took off in the direction of the sound.

It was further away than he'd thought it was at first and he picked up speed when he realized that. Another few screams echoed in his ears, closer and closer, until even someone without enhanced hearing would've been able to catch them. Logan tossed his cigar down and strode up to the house in the middle of this suburban looking street. His claws were already out before he even reached the front door. The next scream coincided with him kicking the door in and then all hell broke loose.

What Logan saw had fury washing over him. There was a woman lying on the ground, her body beaten and bloody, and two men standing over her. One of them was holding a knife and the other had pinned her hands down. At first Logan feared rape, and that set the Wolverine inside snarling. But her clothes were mostly intact. They weren't torn in a way that suggested the people were trying to get underneath. Instead they were torn in a way that showed just what kind of marks they were inflicting. They weren't trying to rape her—they were trying to _interrogate_ her.

He didn't pause to try and find out why. Not yet. With a loud snarl that echoed through the room, Logan launched himself towards the one closest, the one holding her down. He'd turned at the sound of Logan kicking the door and he tried to rise only he wasn't fast enough. Logan was on him in a flash and he retracted his claws so that his fist to the face was just a fist. It sent the man flying into a nearby wall. He slid down it to slump at the bottom, unconscious.

A guttural sound of pain drew Logan's attention to the woman. The guy with her, the one with the knife, had sunk his knife down into her side and was sneering up at Logan, ready to run.

The Wolverine lunged at him and the two went flying. It was a mess of tangled limbs and swung punches as they rolled through the living room, knocking into the couch and smashing the coffee table. But hitting someone whose bones are covered in adamantium isn't the smartest of plans. When one blow had the bones in the man's hand crunching, it gave Logan just enough of an opening to drive his own fist forward and up, snapping the man's chin up and sending him flying. Logan didn't bother checking him. The smell of blood was getting so much stronger and he turned to hurry over towards the woman on the floor.

One look was enough to tell him that he'd been too late. _Dammit._ He should've been faster, should've gotten here in time to save her!

She looked like she'd been pretty once, before they'd laid hands on her. Short blond hair, bright eyes that carried intelligence to them even now, a tall and slender body. She didn't have the curves he usually preferred on a woman but he could see where she would've once been beautiful. Now… now she was a mess of blood and bruises, broken by these two men for some reason.

The woman gave a low moan and her body shuddered a little. It drew Logan out of his thoughts and brought his focus back to her face. Back to the present. Now wasn't the time to wonder about stupid things. This woman was dying, no ambulance would get here in time. She wasn't the first person to die beside him and he knew she wouldn't be the last. He knew what to do. With a gentle hand he reached out to smooth some of her blood-soaked hair from her face. "Hey now, shh. It's all right, ma'am. You're safe now. They're not going to hurt you anymore."

Her wide eyes ran over him and then over towards the body closest to them. When she looked at him again, there was relief starting to grow there. "Dead?"

The low croak of her voice made him want to wince. It showed just how long she'd been screaming. He smiled at her instead. "Nah. But they aint getting up any time soon, I promise that."

"They want…" she paused and coughed, blood spattering over her lips. With a gentle hand Logan pulled up his sleeve and wiped it away. The gruff feral was gone in that moment leaving behind just a man who had seen too much death. He tried to shush her, but she shook her head. "No." With visible effort she firmed her voice. "They want…my baby. Don't… don't let them… get him."

Her baby. Son of a bitch. Logan knew his eyes were wide in his face. These people had been here to steal her baby?

The woman rolled her head away from him and her eyes went towards the floor. It took Logan a second to realize what she was looking at. But after a second, his eyes caught the unevenness of the boards there. Just a miniscule difference he might not have picked up on if he didn't have enhanced sight. And now that he was focusing, he could hear something else as well. Harsh breathing.

Slowly, carefully, Logan rose from the ground and moved towards that spot on the floor. It was hidden mostly by a recliner and he had to pull it out some to make enough room. Behind him, he heard the woman cough, and then he heard her call out a name. "Spencer." She coughed again and her voice got louder. "Spencer, it's all right. Someone's coming to help!" Even with as much pain as she was in, she sought to reassure her child. Maybe it wasn't a baby. Maybe it was a bit older? He wouldn't find out until he opened this.

Logan's hand was steady as he found the tiny little break in the floor that let him get a grip just enough to lift the panel. What he found—wasn't what he was expecting.

Something came flying up from the floor and right towards his face. He jerked back, swearing and flinging a hand up, but the thing—was that a _bat_?—flew past him and dove straight for the woman. Even as Logan was scrambling to spin around, the thing vanished down beside the curve of the woman's neck. Logan was one step forward in a hurry to protect her when he realized that she wasn't fighting against this. In fact, her face had softened and she was… was she _cooing_ at the thing? "Shh, shh… Spencer… it's okay, baby… it's okay…"

Slowly, Logan crept forward, watching carefully as the little thing came into view. As he moved to once more kneel beside the woman, that thing lifted its head and shot him what was unmistakably a glare from a face that wasn't part of a bat. It was… holy _shit_. It was a _dragon_! This thing was a tiny little dragon, its body probably the length of Logan's forearm. The thing looked like it was brown, with hints of darker oranges and maybe even reds thrown in. It was hard to tell in this light. His snout was long, with sharp little teeth showing as he glared up at Logan. Six small spies ran over his brows and back towards his ears, three on each side, and ended with two long spikes that rose up and curled back just a bit. Two small fans, almost like tiny little wings, sat behind each ear, and it looked like his neck and back were covered in spikes or spines of some sort.

"He's my… son…" The woman's shaky voice broke through Logan's shock. He looked up at her face and saw a hint of clarity there; a clarity he knew only came when time was short. She was using up the last of her energy to tell him this. "They s-saw him… flying. Wanted to… to capture him. Sell him. P-please… don't… don't let them get him…"

Oh, hell. She was asking him to protect her son. To take him and care for him. That was a hell of a promise to make. Logan had promised things to friends and soldiers before, to get a message to family or to do one last thing for them…but to take on a child? Yet, as he watched her face, as he saw how hard she was fighting to stay here and stay alive just so she could ask him this, how could he say anything else? There was no doubt in his mind once she said 'son' that this kid was a mutant. He needed help. He needed protection. That was something Logan could do. He reached out and caught her hand in his, giving her his best smile. "I'll watch over your boy, ma'am. I won't let them have him. You have my word on that."

It was like all the tension drained out of her. "Thank you."

The little dragon against her made a low, painful sort of whine, and she turned her face towards him. She didn't say anything, at least not that Logan could tell, but the dragon gave another whine and then slowly, carefully, lifted himself up. It was a heartbreaking scene to watch as the dragon pressed its face up against hers. It stayed there as the woman took in another breath, and as she shuddered it out. Then she was still.

Logan's heart broke a little at the painful cry the dragon gave. He didn't move, didn't break away from his mother, just stayed there pressed against her. As Logan shifted, he saw the moisture dripping down onto her cheek and knew the boy was crying. It broke him a little more. Especially since he knew they needed to get out of there. "Hey, kid." With one hand he reached out, only to be stopped short by those sharp teeth snapping at him. Logan drew that hand back and held his palm out towards the kid. "Woah there, pup. I aint trying to hurt you." He slowly lowered his hand down once more, keeping his eyes fixed on that golden eye staring up at him. "I can hear sirens in the distance and I'm betting someone called the cops on what they heard. We need to get outta here before that happens or everything your Mom did to protect you is gonna count for shit. We need to be long gone by the time the cops get here or these guys wake up." He saw the kid, Spencer, hesitate, and he pressed his advantage, hating that he had to do it but knowing they needed to go. "I promised your Mom I'd protect you, Spencer ,and I meant it. But to do that we need to go, _now_. Or she'll have died for nothing."

Those last words were the ones that broke through the kid's tough exterior. Logan saw the flinch and wished he hadn't had to do that. He had no idea how old this kid really was. Old enough to understand, though. Old enough for his mutation to have kicked in, and old enough for those eyes to have quite a bit of intelligence as they watched him.

This time when Logan reached out the kid didn't stop him. He actually hopped up onto Logan's hand, moving very carefully. It wasn't hard to figure out why. His feet had tiny little claws on the end of each toe that Logan would bet were pretty sharp. They seemed to grip rather well when Spencer climbed up his sleeve to settle near his collar.

Once he was sure the kid was secure, and the cops were getting too damn close, Logan made his way out of the back of the house. This wasn't his first time sneaking away from somewhere. It was easy to do in the dark like this. In just minutes, they were away from the house.

They'd gotten only a few blocks when Logan realized something. Walking around with a dragon perched on his shoulder was a stupid idea. He needed to be discreet. Which also meant going back to his own hotel room wasn't smart, either. They'd have to go in, grab his bag, and go find somewhere else, just in case those goons got free and knew enough to come find him.

There was only one way that Logan could see to get the kid inside without being seen. Blessing inside pockets, he tilted his head as best he could to look over at Spencer without unseating him. "You aint exactly subtle up there, pup. If we wanna get through this without anyone seeing ya, we might wanna try to hide ya a little more. Why don't you climb on down and curl up in the inside pocket of my jacket? Its wool, nice and soft."

After a brief pause the kid started to climb down Logan's arm. Logan lifted that arm, bringing his hand in near the pocket and making a perfect path for Spencer to follow. He didn't exactly fit perfectly as he put himself inside. His wings were too big to compact down in there and his body too long. His tail—which looked like it was as long as the rest of him, maybe even more, hung out of the pocket as well. When Logan drew his jacket back in there was a definite bulge there, but he could hide that.

The kid curled up as best as he could in Logan's pocket and then, he didn't move. He didn't move as Logan got into his hotel room, or as he gathered his stuff, or even as Logan explained where they were going. He didn't move when they set out once more, or as Logan checked them in to their new motel. It worried the feral more than he could say.

It wasn't until Logan had them safely in their new room that he was free to check on the kid. He pulled his jacket off carefully and set it down on the bed. It allowed plenty of space for Spencer to crawl out. The kid did, after only a brief pause, but just enough that he could get his body free from the pocket. Then he stopped, his body still trying to curl in on itself, and Logan's heart throbbed. He recognized grief when he saw it. This poor kid had lost everything tonight. He had every right in the world to grieve. "I'm so sorry, kid. I'm so damn sorry I didn't get there faster."

There was a second where Spencer was completely still. Then… Logan watched in shock as the form of the dragon seemed to grow at a rapid pace, colors shifting and changing, until suddenly it wasn't a dragon sitting on the bed—it was a very naked young boy.

Immediately Logan grabbed one of the extra blankets on the table nearby and he shook it out, pulling it around the kid. Spencer caught it with a pale, slander hand, tucking it around his body. He sat cross legged on the bed, body curled in to the blanket, and his head bowed down. His hair was a nest of brown curls, just slightly shaggy, and the brief glimpse Logan had of his face had showed wide eyes that dominated a slender, pale face. The eyes were worth a second look of their own. They were the same golden dragon eyes, with the thin slit for a pupil and no sclera—white part of the eye—at all.

How on earth had this kid developed powers already? He looked no more than ten, _maybe_ eleven!

"I'm twelve." The boy said, not even bothering to look up. "I just look small for my age."

Logan stood up a little straighter. "You reading my mind?"

"I wasn't trying to. I don't always have the best control yet." A soft little sniffle escaped him and the boy drew in a little tighter. "I should've had more control."

There was so much pain in those words. Logan remembered what the woman had said, how those bastards saw Spencer flying, and he knew what was going through that kid's head at the moment. This was so much more than Logan knew how to deal with. But there was no one else here. Just him. Hopefully that'd be enough. Grabbing hold of a chair, he brought it over and spun it around backwards before straddling it, his arms folding to rest on the top of the back. Then he lowered his head down to better see Spencer's face. "This wasn't your fault, pup. I know it feels like it, but it wasn't."

Spencer's head shot up and his eyes were shining with tears. "It was!" His chin lifted in a stubborn gesture and pain almost radiated off him. "I knew better than to go out flying, but it felt so _good_! And they saw me. They saw me and followed me home. If I'd just listened, or if I'd stayed small, they never would've seen me!"

"Stayed small?"

The kid slumped down a little. He brought up one edge of the blanket to wipe at his face. "I… I can shrink my other self down to that size, but my real dragon is bigger. Dog-sized. It seems to grow as I do."

That was interesting. Not just a shapeshifter, but able to shrink that down. That would come in handy. There was some telepathy mixed in there as well, obviously. Logan tilted his head and watched Spencer. For twelve, the kid was handling this a whole lot better than one would expect. He was crying, sure, and hurt, but he wasn't falling apart. He just looked… broken. It had Logan softening his tone a little. "Why don't you go on in and clean up, pup? I'm sure I can find one of my shirts small enough for you to sleep in. We'll get some rest and then tomorrow, we'll try and figure things out, all right?

"Why are you helping me?" Spencer whispered.

Logan pushed up from his chair, nudging it back towards the table, and then he moved over to crouch down in front of Spencer. He reached up, laying one hand on the kid's blanket covered shoulder. "I made a promise to your Mom, Spencer, and it's one I plan on keeping. No matter what else happens, you got me now, all right? An I'll be damned if I'm gonna let anything happen to you."

Those watery eyes lifted to his and they tugged on Logan's heart again .This kid was already worming his way in there and Logan had barely known him a night yet. "What if they come back?" he whispered.

Logan smiled, sharp and hard. "Then they'll find I aint exactly easy to kill. I just get right back up, even more pissed off than before." He gave Spencer's shoulder a soft squeeze. "There's nothing that's gonna hurt you while I'm here. Now, go on and go get a shower, pup. There's not much of night left and you need some sleep."

He watched as the kid rose on shaky legs from the bed and made his way, blanket and all, towards the bathroom. Only when he was inside did Logan finally let himself slump down and sigh. What the hell had he gotten himself into here? He didn't know anything about taking care of some twelve year old kid! Especially one that was as traumatized as this one was!

There was no way he was going to be able to walk way, though. He'd made a promise to the woman and he'd made a promise just now to the boy—and Logan kept his promises. He'd keep the kid safe. No matter what it took.

Apparently his days of traveling alone were over. Somehow that thought didn't seem that bad. As Logan pushed to his feet, he smiled a little. He was going to have to stop by a store tomorrow and pick up a few things for the kid. For both sides of him, really. Then they were going to have to get far away from here. Where, he wasn't sure. They could figure that out together.

 **Story Two to be added soon!**


	2. A Child's Trust 1

For the next week Spencer spoke not a word. He knew he was worrying Logan with his silence. He just couldn't seem to bring himself to care. He couldn't bring himself to care about anything beyond the well of grief that was inside of him. Nothing had ever hurt so much as the loss of his mother did. It gutted him and left him empty of anything except the pain and the grief. Nothing Logan did was really pulling him out of it. The man vanished at one point and brought back a duffle bag and a messenger bag that were Spencer's, filled with clothes from his house and, deep down inside, a picture from the mantle of him and his mother. Spencer slept curled around it that night.

He didn't speak when Logan told him that they needed to move on; he didn't even try and ask where they were going. Did it really matter? It wasn't here. It wasn't home. His Mom wouldn't be there waiting for him. Except for this random kind stranger, Spencer was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

Trusting himself over to Logan was easy. His mother had trusted the man, and the empathy she'd possessed had made her a fine judge of character. Spencer's abilities as a dragon usually let him judge someone pretty well, too. At least when he was in dragon form. Everything was a bit stronger that way. The impression he'd picked up from Logan's mind had been dangerous, yes, and deadly if need be, with all these places in there that were so mixed up and some even _blocked_ , and yet over it all had been an overwhelming sense of kindness as he'd looked at Diana, and later on as he'd helped care for Spencer. The man was dangerous, but he was also good.

Going silent had been a sort of defense mechanism for Spencer most of his life. When emotions got too strong, or things around him became too much, he lost the desire to speak. It was a stark contrast to the usually chatty kid he could be.

But there was only so long he could wallow. So long that the dragon part of himself was willing to be pushed down and ignored. Since that night, Spencer hadn't shifted his form. Why would he? It was the use of that form that had started this whole mess. It was the whole reason his mother was… was gone. He didn't want to be the dragon anymore! However, he was quickly learning that the dragon didn't like being denied.

For the first time since his mother's death, he dreamed of something aside from blood, something aside from her pale face as he'd curled into her one last time. Those nightmares had been haunting him each and every night this past week. But this time, when he shot up in bed it was with the memory of wind under his wings, the ground a distant thing below him and the sky open and free all around him. It was with the taste of fresh air on his tongue and the promise of a hunt in his future. It was also with the salt of tears still flowing down his cheeks.

Spencer drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs as he buried his face against his knees. The dragon in him was begging to be free and it was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want to let it free. That part of him was the reason his mother was _gone_. He wanted it to go away. He'd never wanted to be a mutant anyways! Wasn't he already enough of a freak with his strange eyes? Or with his sharp mind? Why did he have to have _this_ too?

From nearby came the soft sound of the other motel bed shifting. Spencer didn't really have much memory of where they were; this room looked the same as any they'd been in this past week. But he knew that it was Logan over there. Just as he could tell that Logan was coming closer to him.

He was surprised when the man didn't stay on his bed. He got up and came over, ignoring the way that Spencer tightened in on himself, and simply sat down on the bed and reached out for Spencer. "C'mere, pup." The man's voice was low and gruff, yet oddly suited to their dark motel room. He was almost radiating that kindness that Spencer had noticed on him before and it was just, it was too much. The preteen didn't have any hope of holding out against it. Without even thinking about it he twisted himself and almost threw his slender body straight into Logan's arms.

The feral didn't even hesitate to pull Spencer right up into his lap and cradle him. Though Logan was short for an adult, he felt huge to Spencer right then. There was so much strength in Logan's arms. Spencer curled himself in against the man even tighter. Though he knew it was a child's belief, one he was smarter than to fall for, in that moment it felt like nothing would be able to hurt him here. Logan was big enough and strong enough to keep him safe. Here, wrapped up in muscled arms that Spencer had no doubt could turn deadly, he was safe to let go.

The tears came faster and faster. Spencer gripped tight to Logan's shirt and buried his face in against him. Never once did Logan let go. Not even when the first sob broke free. He just held Spencer tight and rubbed one of those big hands over the boy's back. "That's it, pup. Let it all out. You been holding it in all week; just let it out. I got you."

Let it out he did. The tears that Spencer had been holding in all week came pouring from him with a force that shook his slender young body. Spencer sobbed for what had happened, for the mother he'd lost, and for the guilt he couldn't let go of. "I'm s-s-sorry!" He pressed his face in against the wet material of Logan's shirt and clenched his small fists even tighter. "I didn't… I didn't mean to!"

"Shh, shh." Logan smoothed a hand over Spencer's curls and somehow, impossibly, tucked him in even closer. "It wasn't your fault, Spencer. It wasn't. It was those crazy bastards, not you."

"She was pr-protecting me!"

"That's what Moms do. They protect their pups. She would've taken it a thousand times over to make sure you didn't get hurt. She loved you."

The tears came even faster and Spencer gave up trying to talk. He just held on to Logan and sobbed and sobbed until there was nothing left in him to give. Until he was reduced to the soft little hiccups and shudders a body gives when there are no more tears to cry, yet the grief is still there. Even then, Logan didn't let go of him. He kept holding Spencer and stroking soothingly over his back. They sat there for who knew how long. Spencer didn't really care. The kid who was usually so adverse to touch and loathe to show weakness just didn't have it in him to be strong right then.

It was Logan who eventually broke the silence that had fallen over their mostly dark room. He never stopped his gentle petting—and it was very much petting now, over Spencer's hair and his back in soothing strokes—but his voice came low and just a bit rumbly. "You know, my name's Logan, but the other name I go by, it's Wolverine. An it's not just a codename for me. It's a part of me, kind of like the dragon is a part of you. A feral part of me I gotta work hard to keep locked away inside. Cause if I let him out, there aint no telling what he'll do. He lives off of instincts. If he's hungry, he hunts. If he's threatened, he'll fight back an he'll even kill."

Spencer had realized that Logan was a feral pretty quickly. He knew the man had his claws; Logan had showed those to him early on. But he hadn't realized that the feral part of him was a whole other part, almost separate from the man himself.

"I've done things when I've been Wolverine, things I aint proud of. I've hurt people. Killed people. Sometimes… sometimes I'd like nothing better than to lock that part away and never let it out again."

"So what do you do?" Spencer asked quietly.

He felt the rumble of Logan's sigh vibrate the man's chest. There was a hint of the animal to that sound, a hint of a growl. It didn't scare Spencer, though. It made him feel strangely safer. "I had to learn that the beast aint in control of me—I'm in control of the beast. Pretending he aint there doesn't do me any good, or anyone else. Eventually he's gonna want out. So I had to learn a balance between those two parts of myself. A way to be me while still being a bit of him, too." The hand on Spencer's hair stopped stroking for a moment to cup the back of his head. "I know you been denying that other part of yourself. You feel guilty that he's the part that got their attention an that it ended up with your Mom dying. But, Spencer, you're gonna learn you can't deny that part. It won't work. It's a part of who you are. Wishing it away won't make it disappear. Might as well try and wish away your hands."

Sniffling, Spencer rubbed the tip of his nose against Logan's shirt, enjoying the texture of the material and the heat the man put off. It was part of the dragon in him that needed warmer temperatures. He didn't do well in cold. "People… people see that and they, they freak out. Those guys wanted to take me and sell me off like some fancy pet."

The hand holding his head gave a little tug until Spencer had to tip back. He was met with bright blue eyes that seemed to shine a bit from the street light shining in through the window. "You think I'm gonna let that happen?"

There was such firm certainty in those words. Like it was a foregone conclusion that Logan would protect him. It warmed Spencer even as it worried him. "I don't want anyone else hurt for me, Logan."

To his surprise, the feral smiled. "I told you, I aint easy to kill. Trust me, plenty of people have tried. I've got a strong enough healing factor I aint found anything yet that can keep me down."

This time Spencer heard those words and understood them far more than he had the last time. The idea of what Logan was implying had him perking up a little. New knowledge always intrigued him. "You mean you can't die?"

"If I can, no one's figured out how yet. An trust me," That grin sharpened, that hint of fang showing again. "Plenty of people have tried." He let go of Spencer's hair to reach down and brush his knuckles against the boy's cheek. His look softened again into something gentle. "I know you got no reason to trust me, but I made your Mom a promise, kid. I'm gonna look out for you. All parts of you. I know you're hurting right now and I wish to God I could change it. I can't promise you it won't ever hurt, cause it will. It's always gonna hurt, right down in here." He dropped his hand down to tap the knuckle of his index finger over Spencer's heart. "But it'll get easier with time. You'll start to be able to breathe again without it ripping you apart. An I'll be right here with you all the way. Got it?"

What else could Spencer do? He nodded his head. "Got it."

Those strong arms pulled him back in close and Spencer relaxed down into Logan's hold again. He didn't notice the feral rocking him, or the low rumble of his humming, but the two eventually soothed Spencer back down to sleep. This time, there were no dreams.


	3. A Child's Trust 2

/ Denotes telepathic speech!

* * *

When Spencer woke in the morning he was once more alone in his bed. The same grief that he'd been feeling for days was still there to greet him, just like had become normal, but for the first time Spencer thought that maybe he might be able to breathe around it. That he might be able to speak around it. It wasn't choking him or blocking off his throat with that hard lump that had built there. Last night had helped him clear some of that out.

Slowly, Spencer pushed himself up in the bed, his unique eyes scanning around the room. There was no sign of Logan. Part of Spencer was grateful for that. He was more than a little embarrassed for breaking down the way he had. To distract from that, he took a look around the room he hadn't paid any real attention to before.

Their room wasn't anything special to look at. Just a simple room with two queen beds, a table, a couple chairs, and an old looking TV. The bathroom was on the side of the room nearest Spencer and that was where he got up and made his way to with only a small grimace for walking on a dirty floor in socked feet. Showering and getting his teeth brushed helped Spencer feel a little less like the zombie he'd become. He stood there after the shower and stared at his reflection in the slightly foggy mirror. There were bags under his eyes that showed just how little sleep he'd been getting lately. His body, already too slender for someone his age, looked a little bit smaller than before. As much as Logan had been trying to get him to eat, Spencer hadn't done much of it.

What would his Mom say if she could see him now? What would she think of what Spencer was doing with the sacrifice she'd made? He snorted softly. He knew what she'd say. She'd lament on just how skinny he was and then she'd ruffle his hair and make him something to eat if it was one of her good days, maybe even pull him in to her room afterwards and read to him for a while until he fell asleep safe and secure in bed with her.

 _I miss you, Mom_. Staring into the reflection of his own eyes, eyes his mother had always praised and his father had rarely ever been able to look at, Spencer felt that lump build in his throat again. _I love you so much. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. But I'm… I'm going to do better. I promise. I'll be stronger._

Closing his eyes, he fought back the tears, pushed them down in the same place that he'd pushed the pain after his father left, or when the bullies at school tried to hurt him with fists and words, and then he gathered up the same quiet strength that his mother had possessed. He wasn't going to curl up in bed and hide anymore. He wasn't going to let himself be that weak.

The first step to that was doing something he'd been fighting doing all week. Instead of putting on clothes, he let go of his control and switched himself over out of his human shape and into the one that he was far more comfortable with. In just seconds, there was no longer the reflection of a boy looking back at him through the mirror. His normal dragon form—not the shrunken down one he normally did—sat perched on the bathroom counter.

The bathroom wasn't too large, but the counter had room enough for two sinks and some counter space between it, so he was able to perch there. When he didn't shrink himself down, his dragon size seemed to be about that of a golden retriever. He lifted his wings behind him and spread them just a little, letting them enjoy the feeling of not being squished up against his back. His tail hung down towards the ground and curled just a bit at the end. Spikes ran from the bottom of his neck, down his spine to the tip of his tail, though they were a bit more spaced out the lower down they got. Spencer stared at them for a moment before he concentrated and made them all lay flat. He'd learned that trick early on. The only time he'd really need them _up_ was in defense. Otherwise he made them lay flat and they were almost like any other scale, barely noticeable. Diana had been able to pet him and not be pricked by them.

She'd been fascinated by his scales. That thought made him ache, yet it also had him twisting and turning a little, looking those scales over. For the most part he looked brown, he knew. Brown like his hair. But when his mood was high, or when he was in the light, the different bits of orange and red started to come through in all sorts of shades. Diana had said he was her desert dragon.

"Hey, Spencer!" Logan's voice broke into Spencer's thoughts. "You planning on coming out any time today? I got breakfast."

The young dragon huffed a little and smoke drifted out his nostrils. If he was going to be staying with Logan, it was time to see just how much the man was actually willing to put up with.

Spencer used his tail to reach out and twist the doorknob. Then he pulled the door open before hopping down off the counter. Wings tucked in against his back, he made his way out into the main room. Logan had his back to him and was busy setting breakfast out on the table. Spencer chose to hop up on the bed and sit down, settling his wings loosely behind him and curling his tail around himself, waiting for Logan to turn and notice him. It only took a moment.

"Bout time, pup…" The feral turned and his words cut off. Spencer had to give Logan credit. The man only startled a little when he caught sight of the dragon on the bed that was much larger than the last one he'd seen. "Well I'll be damned." Logan breathed out. Then he surprised Spencer by grinning. "I see why you made yourself small before. Aint exactly easy to hide this, is it?"

Time for another test. _/No, it's not/_ Spencer sent to him.

That made Logan startle more than the sight of him had. The man furrowed his brows and looked like he was going to glare before he thought better of that. "We're gonna have to lay some ground rules for this mind-reading thing." Logan said firmly. He lifted a finger and pointed it at Spencer. "I don't care if you talk to me that way, but don't go rooting around for nothing in there. There are things in there no kid needs to see. Got it?"

 _/Yes, sir/_ Spencer said earnestly. He wouldn't ever dream of invading Logan's privacy like that.

Logan snorted and dropped his hand down. "None of _that_. Just Logan works fine by me."

 _/Of course/_ Then, hesitantly, Spencer added on, _/You can think back at me this way, you know. I'll pick up on thoughts you purposely direct my way/_

"Huh. That'll come in handy."

Spencer couldn't help himself; he stared. This wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting at all. Then again, nothing so far about Logan really seemed to be what someone would expect when they looked at the man. Maybe it was time he stopped judging him by what he looked like and started judging him by the way he was acting. With his tail Spencer reached down into the bag by his bed and pulled out some clean clothes. Then he tugged the blankets over him even as he shifted back to himself, so when he ended he was human again and neatly hidden under the covers. It only took a bit of wiggling to get on the boxers, jeans, and shirt. When he emerged, Logan was seated at the table and there was a spot set up for Spencer.

The young boy made his way over and slipped down into the chair, folding his legs under him. He looked at the plate of eggs, sausage, and biscuits in front of him and found that he was honestly a little bit hungry. It was sort of a strange feeling. He looked up at Logan through his bangs and offered a small smile. "Thank you."

"No problem." With his fork he gestured at Spencer's plate. "Eat up. You're too damn skinny an all that shifting probably takes a shit ton of energy."

It did, actually. But even so, there was only so much food Spencer could put into his stomach. He got in a biscuit, a piece of sausage, and a spoonful of eggs before he started to lose interest in it. While last night had helped, the grief wasn't entirely gone, and he wasn't entirely out of that dark pit he'd sunk into. It was going to take effort. Effort he still wasn't entirely sure he was going to be able to have. He noticed Logan eyeing his food and knew if he didn't distract the man he was probably going to hear a lecture on eating. It wouldn't be the first one Spencer had gotten from an adult. "So," Spencer said, drawing Logan's eyes upwards to his face. Unlike other people Spencer knew, Logan had no issue meeting his eyes. "What… what exactly is the plan?"

The way Logan looked at him made it clear he understood what Spencer was doing. He let it slide, though. "Well, now that we got a bit of distance between there and us, I figure it's time to start figuring some things out. You said you're twelve, right?" He waited for Spencer's nod before continuing. "Then the first step is going and getting us some papers somewhere. People are gonna be looking for you and we need to make sure you aren't there for them to find. Once we got papers making you someone else, I thought we'd find us a place on the opposite coast maybe, settle in and get you in a school."

Hearing the word 'school' had Spencer actually perking up a little. Some of his old self showed through just the slightest bit. "School? You'd take me somewhere and let me go to school?"

"You aint getting outta finishing school, pup."

"No, no, that wasn't what I meant at all." Spencer hurried to say. He sat up a bit straighter in his chair and his attention was wholly on Logan now. He even stopped stirring his eggs around, the fork just hanging loosely in his hand. "I was almost finished with school before this. Mostly I was going to be spending the next few months waiting for the official graduation to come around. They were talking about trying to give me extra credit classes just so I could have something to do. Mom and I…" Something squeezed around his heart and Spencer stuttered, almost losing track of his sentence before gaining control of it again. His voice was a bit less steady than before. "Mom and I were talking about colleges. She was sure I'd get in. I wasn't quite so sure they'd accept someone with my, well," Lifting his hand, he gestured towards his eyes.

He watched as Logan froze, fork halfway to his mouth. Those blue eyes were locked right on Spencer and they looked stunned. "Wait a second… when you say you were almost finished, do you mean with whatever grade you were in? Or with school altogether?"

"This was my senior year in high school. I was bumped up a few grades."

There it was; that look that Spencer was so familiar with. Few adults expected him to be as smart as he was. They always looked so surprised by it. Sighing, Spencer ducked his head down and went back to stirring his eggs. "I've been bumped up a few times. They could've done it more but they felt I was already being deprived of being around children my own age, so I was held back with the rest of my class a few times early on. Once they realized my intelligence far exceeded that of my peers it was agreed that I'd flourish in a different environment. One where I was better able to learn at my own level."

Any shock on Logan's face was washing away to something that more resembled amusement. Not the mean kind, though. It wasn't the kind that left Spencer feeling like he was being laughed at. It was the kind like what his Mom did—the kind that sort of made him feel like he was in on the joke, even if he didn't understand it. "So you're a genius then, huh?"

"I don't believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified." Spencer answered promptly.

That actually earned him a laugh. "Yeah, pup, go on and prove my point there." He waved away whatever else Spencer might've said, then chuckled again. "All right. So, college. Might not be as easy but I'm sure we can figure out something. We'll need records to back up those smarts, though."

"No college is going to accept me, Logan. Not without proof of my intelligence dating back through elementary school, something that we don't have." Spencer hated to point it out, but he and his mother had done their research. They knew what was required. "That's not even mentioning the staff or students who are going to take issue with a twelve year old on their campus. Not just that, but a twelve year old mutant. It wouldn't exactly work well for hiding, either. Even I know that it'd be smart to stay out of sight for a while. If they were willing to go that far to get me before, what's to say they won't continue to try and track me down?"

Instead of arguing with him the way that most might've—very few adults liked to be corrected or told what to do by a child—Logan nodded his head. He put another bite of food in his mouth and chewed it, his expression saying that he was actually sitting there contemplating Spencer's words. It wasn't until he swallowed that he spoke again. "You got a point. Maybe being around here aint the best idea. I was thinking about heading to a group of people before this, but maybe we should pick somewhere a little further away for a while."

"How far away?"

"I still got a few friends here and there round the globe." He chewed his way through another bite before he focused on Spencer again. "You ever been to England, pup?

England? Spencer's eyes went wide. "No." He'd never been outside of Nevada.

The corner of Logan's mouth quirked up. "Sounds like as good a place as any to lay low for a while. No one's gonna think of looking for you there." Finishing off the last of his food, Logan set his fork down and scooped up his coffee cup, grinning over the top of it at Spencer. "What do you say, pup? Feel like going to a new country?"

After the week he'd had it would've made more sense for Spencer to be distrustful of anyone offering to 'help' him. Especially when that help involved leaving the country. But there was no part of him that mistrusted Logan's words. He looked up at the man with all the faith children carry in the adults in their lives. Faith that said that they believed this adult knew best and that they would take care of them, no matter what. "Okay."


	4. A Child's Trust 3

One thing Spencer was quickly learning was that once Logan got an idea into his head, he wasn't one to sit around and wonder over it. He was more the type to just go out and start getting it done. So when he told Spencer that they were going to get them some papers and go to England, they didn't wait around talking about it. They finished up their breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and then they loaded into Logan's truck and headed out to meet up with whoever this person was that Logan said could get him all the necessary papers to make Spencer into a new person.

"I'd already planned on getting you the papers." Logan told him on their way there. "Best way to hide is to be someone else."

"Who am I going to be?"

"Who do you want to be?"

That question had Spencer thinking. Logan asked it like he really wanted to know what kind of answer Spencer would give. Like he wanted to know who Spencer wanted to be. It was strange. Logan was nothing like any of the adults that Spencer had ever met. He didn't do things like Spencer was used to. Only Diana had ever treated Spencer like this—like he was a regular person, not just some kid. Logan treated him like Spencer was an adult while at the same time taking care of him like a kid. It was, nice. Strange, but nice.

So who did he want to be? Spencer curled himself up in his seat and rested his chin on his knees. Thin arms wrapped around his legs and held there loosely. "I think… I think I'd still like to be Spencer."

"Yeah?" Logan snuck a look over at him, giving a small nod as his eyes went back to the road. "Makes sense. Easier to remember. You partial to any last names?"

After thinking for a moment, Spencer shook his head. "No." Then he tilted his head a little so he could better look at the feral's face. "Who are you going to be? If we want people to accept why we're together, we're going to have to play family of some sort. Otherwise people will get suspicious."

"No one's gonna believe I'm your dad."

"No." Spencer agreed. They didn't look enough alike for that. But, maybe… "You could probably pass as my Uncle, though." The idea was a lot easier to stomach than 'dad' as well. Fathers were a bit of a touchy subject to Spencer. He had a feeling that Logan had guessed that because the man hadn't once asked him about taking him to his father. He hadn't asked about any family, really. Maybe he just assumed Spencer would've mentioned them if he had them. Which he didn't. There was no one else out there for him. Just Diana. And now she… she was gone.

It wasn't hard for Logan to see the slip Spencer's mood made. He could read the drop in those expressive eyes of his. The way his lashes came down, how his head tilted so that his bangs covered them even more. He hid them away—the only part of him that really seemed to give away what he was feeling all the time. For a kid he had a pretty good control on the rest of his body. At least, most of the time. Logan cleared his throat and tried to distract the kid before his thoughts could get any darker or deeper. "Uncle don't seem too bad. That mean you're gonna walk around calling me 'Uncle Logan'?" He'd meant that last bit to be slightly teasing, maybe make Spencer flush or laugh or something, but he was surprised when the kid shrugged one shoulder and said "Of course. Isn't that what people do?"

Logan looked over at him with surprise on his face. "I'm not gonna make you do that, Spencer."

Again, Spencer shrugged. "It seems the most logical thing to do if we want people to believe we're family."

For Spencer, that was all that needed to be said. Logic always tended to win out in his world. If something was the logical response what was the point in arguing it? He said nothing more on the subject, considering it closed, and Logan said nothing else either. They rode for the next little while with only the low music of a classic rock station playing in the background. It left Spencer with far too long to be caught up in his thoughts, a pastime that Logan would soon learn wasn't always a smart one. Diana had always said that Spencer had a overactive imagination. A side effect of being as brilliant as he was. At the moment, most of what his mind seemed to be stuck on was replaying those last few moments with his mother that had been haunting him almost nonstop.

He hated his memory sometimes. Hated how clear it made things no matter how much time had passed since they'd happened. He could clearly remember the panic on his mother's face when those thugs had started trying to break into the house. They probably hadn't expected Spencer and Diana to be awake. If she hadn't been feeling a little off, they probably wouldn't have been. But her meds had left her a bit nauseous that night and the two had been on their way to the kitchen to make some tea and sit together as they'd done countless times before when Diana or Spencer couldn't sleep. They liked to sit together and drink tea at the kitchen table until one or both of them felt like going back to sleep again.

Diana had heard the people trying to pick the lock on the front door and she'd ordered Spencer to be small and to hide. He hadn't liked the idea of leaving his mother alone against whatever was coming, but he'd also been raised to listen to her, especially when she got that _tone_. She'd ordered him to hide and he'd done so in the little space that they'd made just for an instance like this. It'd been one of the rare moments that Spencer had blessed the paranoia that was a part of his mother's schizophrenia. She'd been sure someone would come for him when they realized he was a mutant and she'd made sure there were places to hide him.

He'd hidden there that night, under the floorboards, unable to do anything as he'd listened to them hurting her. Their demands to know where he was had been loud and clear and Spencer had wanted nothing more than to burst out of there and show them where he was. He'd wanted to bring himself to full dragon size and show them that there was someone in the house capable of defending themselves. Only, he'd _froze_. Like some pathetic little… _child_ …he'd frozen completely still at the sound of his mother screaming.

Just when he'd convinced himself to do it, unable to bear listening to her screams anymore, he'd heard someone else burst in, heard the furious snarls of someone as they'd fought them away. Then, silence.

That had been Logan, he knew now. It had been Logan bursting in and trying to save them. Only he hadn't been quite fast enough. Spencer had been too cowardly and Logan had been a hair too slow to be able to save Diana that night.

There were times the little boy couldn't help but the think the trade-off wasn't fair. It shouldn't have been Diana that had died that night. She hadn't deserved to die. _I'm so sorry, Mom. I 'm so sorry._

* * *

Meeting up with Logan's friend wasn't what Spencer had expected. Mainly because he wasn't actually allowed to do it. When they started to get close, a town that Logan didn't even bother telling him the name of becoming visible in the distance, the feral told Spencer in no uncertain terms that he wasn't coming inside. "This aint no place for a kid, Spencer. The last thing you need is to be going in there."

"How is it more dangerous to take me inside than it is to leave me sitting in a truck outside?" Spencer couldn't help but ask. He wasn't able to stop the slightly sulky tone, either. Why was he being ordered to stay in the truck like a little kid?

Logan smiled at him like he guessed what Spencer was thinking. "First of all, the guy I'm dealing with is a dick, an the last thing I need is to bring in a kid when dealing with him. Trust me on that. Second of all, there's no one stupid enough to come up and mess with any truck outside Flip's place. Not if they value their life. Besides, I wasn't exactly planning on leaving a kid here for anyone to find." Then he reached out and ruffled Spencer's hair, laughing at the scowl it got him.

It took a second for Logan's words to click. When they did, he felt both understanding and fear. Logan wanted him to be his little dragon self and hide in the truck. It was a smart plan; it also left Spencer feeling a little sick. He hadn't been a dragon outside since… since his trip that had started all this. Now here Logan was, asking him to do it, and asking him to hide. Just like Diana had. A small part of Spencer couldn't help the fear that this might end up like the last time he'd hidden as a dragon. Was he going to lose Logan now, too?

Before that dark thought got a chance to truly take hold, he felt a strong hand settle on his shoulder, firm fingers curving towards the back of his neck. "Hey." The gruff sound of Logan's voice had Spencer looking up through his bangs. He found compassionate blue eyes looking down at him, sneaking looks at him even as they kept flashing up to watch the road. "I'm coming back, pup. Remember what I told you – I'm not that easy to kill. It'd take a lot more than Flip has to take me out, all right? I'll be back."

What else could Spencer do? He'd trusted Logan so far. With that in mind, Spencer ducked himself down in his seat and let Logan toss a coat over him. It gave him a nice little cover to shift underneath. When he poked his head up a moment later, he was the small dragon. Size didn't take away from the glare at he sent the feral's way. _/I want it know that I protest this course of action,_ Uncle _/_ There was heavy layer of sarcasm on that last word.

It didn't bother Logan. "Protest noted and ignored. We need these papers, but I'm not risking you to get them. Now…" The car slowed down a little and Spencer watched as Logan turned the wheel to the right. "I already sent ahead our pictures, so I just gotta give him the last bits of information an we'll be good to go. Shouldn't take more than fifteen, twenty minute at the most."

Fifteen minutes wasn't so bad. Spencer reminded himself of that as he curled up underneath Logan's coat and waited for the man to return. The truck doors were locked and Spencer was neatly out of sight with the coat over him. He could wait fifteen minutes.

Of course, it was easier said than done to sit and simply wait. Spencer kept curled up under the coat and enjoyed the warmth it gave him even as his mind wandered. No one was coming close to the truck; for that, he was thankful. But it also meant that he was just _sitting there_ doing absolutely nothing. He was _bored_. To try and combat his boredom, he let his mind drift outwards to sort of scan the area around him. A stray thought had him shifting his focus and then reaching out towards his newfound guardian. _/Logan?/_

The reply came almost instantly. _/What's up, pup? You safe?/_

 _/I'm fine/_ The concern that came with that question warmed Spencer a little. _/I was just taking a feel around the area and I thought you might want to know that there's an FBI surveillance van parked two streets down. I'm not sure if the home you're in is the one that they're watching, but they keep discussing the 'target' and 'business' as well as something about having proof/_

 _/Shit/_ There was a scramble of thoughts then that weren't really directed Spencer's way. Finally they evened back out. _/Thanks, pup. I've got our papers and I'm on my way back out. Stay low. Hopefully we can get our asses outta here before any sort of trouble happens. Can you keep an eye on the Feds for me?/_

That was simple enough. Spencer sent his affirmative before he focused his attention back on the FBI surveillance team. The more he listened, the more sure he was that it was the house Logan just came out of that they were watching. They didn't seem to be focused on Logan, though. They paid him no real attention as he walked back up to the truck or as he got inside. Even when the truck started and they were pulling out onto the street, their attention seemed to stay on the house.

"Anything?" Logan asked him lowly.

 _/I think we're safe/_ Spencer told him. He focused for a moment more, making sure that no one paid them any attention, and he relaxed when they reached the end of the block without any trouble.

When he pulled his head out of the jacket to look up, he found Logan sneaking a glance down at him. The man didn't seem at all bothered when Spencer drew out a little more and moved over towards him. Spencer was always a bit more tactile like this. Especially when he was cold. He wasn't meant to be cold. His dragon body needed some kind of heat. Human bodies were the best at giving him that. Logan, especially, seemed to be good for it. He almost radiated heat and it drew Spencer in towards him. When he inched close, Logan kept his hands on the wheel and didn't comment on it. Instead he told Spencer "Thanks for watching my back."

 _/Of course/_ Spencer inched a little closer until he was right up against the side of Logan's leg. When that still didn't get a reaction, he laid down on the seat. His neck stretched out so he could rest his head on Logan's leg and be able to look up at the man. _/Where are we off to now?/_

"Now we get to another friend of mine who can smuggle us out of the country. How do you feel about boats, pup?"

 _/You have a lot of friends willing to help you/_ Spencer pointed out. Then he shrugged one wing. _/I've never been on a boat/_

"Well, here's hoping you don't get seasick."

* * *

He did. Oh, he very much did. Spencer as a human quickly found that he very easily got seasick. His stomach just couldn't seem to handle the rolling motion of the ship and it quickly let him know that. During the day there wasn't anything he could really do about it except curl around the bucket that Logan got for him and try not to let it show just how miserable he was. He knew better than to show that kind of weakness. Only babies whined and he _wasn't_ a baby.

At night, however, there was less of a chance they'd be disturbed in their little cabin on this ship, a ship that Logan's friend insisted they'd be safe on. There, Spencer was free to shift into the small dragon. He could be small and hidden and the nausea didn't seem to bother him like this. He'd much prefer to _fly_ but Logan told him that wasn't safe. Not out here where something might throw him off course and he could get lost, unable to find the boat again. Spencer didn't argue it. Besides he didn't really mind curling up there with Logan while he was a dragon. As soon as Logan had figured out that Spencer needed heat like this, could in fact get very weak if he was too cold, the man had taken to letting Spencer curl up in a little ball on his chest. It was a nice place to sleep. Warm, and he could hear Logan's heartbeat playing like a soothing melody underneath him. It was a big faster and stronger than most people's heartbeats. Spencer figured it had something to do with the healing factor the man had. His body was always working to keep him healthy and strong.

Days and days passed on the water until one morning, they were woken up by a rap on their door. "Rise and shine, boys!" The voice of Logan's friend, Paddy, called out to them through the door. "Land in sight! We'll be docking in two hours."

Spencer lifted his head from the blankets to look over towards the door. Then he turned himself to look down at Logan. The feral was lying flat on his back just as he'd been when they'd gone to sleep. His eyes were only half open and just a bit sleepy.

Though the loss of his mother still gnawed at Spencer's insides, and no one would ever be able to replace her in his world, it was kind of scary just how much of a place Logan was starting to take in Spencer's life. He'd never replace Spencer's mother, but… it was hard for Spencer to remind himself that he wasn't supposed to lean on adults. Especially male adults. They never stuck around. His own father, if he were around, would never have dealt well with all of this. Yet Logan had swooped in and saved him and he hadn't once balked at taking care of Spencer since then. He'd done it all like it was just the normal thing to do. Like it was no big deal that he was taking care of a kid that wasn't his. No big deal to give up his own life and move to a whole other _country_ just to keep Spencer safe from people who might try and take him away. The man was starting to _matter_ to Spencer. That was terrifying.

Logan lifted one arm and briefly pet his fingers over some of Spencer's scales on his neck before he brought that hand up to rest behind his own head, propping him up just enough to better be able to look at Spencer's face. He met Spencer's eyes without issue and gave him a lazy, half-smile. "Sleep well, pup?"

 _/Not a pup/_ Spencer pointed out to him.

The smile Logan wore shifted into a smirk. "Sure thing, _pup_. You prefer I call you a, what? What would a baby dragon be? A hatchling?"

Smoke drifted from Spencer's nostrils when he huffed. He twisted his tail under the blankets and lightly smacked Logan's side with it. _/You could just call me Spencer, you know. It IS my name/_

He didn't get any sort of response from that except for a chuckle. For a few moments the two of them just sat there together. Spencer laid his head down again, his body turned enough that he could still see Logan's face. After a little bit of lying there listening to the sounds of the ship around them and the beat of the heart underneath him, it was Spencer who broke the silence and spoke first. _/What are we going to do once we land?/_ It was something he'd been worrying about. One thing among many.

"Figured we'd wander a bit. See the sights, get comfortable, all that. If we find somewhere we like, we can stick there. Maybe talk to a couple people and see if we can't get some schoolin' of some kind set up for you."

So basically the man didn't have any serious plans about anything here. Just a sort of 'wander around' kind of plan. Part of Spencer wanted to rebel against that. He liked structure and plans; he liked to know what was happening to him and what might happen in his future. At the same time, he didn't really want to try and figure out anything. He didn't want to have to deal with all that. So far he'd let himself mostly trust things over to Logan. That hadn't steered him wrong yet. Maybe it was time to just let the other man take control of things. If this was what he thought was best, who was Spencer to argue?

Lost in thought, he didn't notice Logan moving around. But he did feel as a hand brushed against the underside of his right wing. It surprised him completely when Logan didn't hesitate to lay his hand on Spencer's back, right above his wing joints and at the base of his neck. With Spencer's smaller size at the moment that hand took up quite a bit of space and effectively pinned him down. If Logan was bothered by the scales under his hands or even the laid down spines, he didn't comment on it. He just looked at Spencer with eyes that carried a lot of understanding in them. "I'll keep you safe, Spencer. You don't have to worry about that." Logan reassured him. His voice still held hints of sleep in it, making it a deeper rumble than normal. The sound would've probably scared Spencer before all this had happened. If he'd met Logan without all this drama, that sound would've had him curling back and away from him, trying to protect himself from an obvious threat. Now… now it was extremely soothing. He soaked up the rumbles he could feel in the chest under him and let them soothe him down. "The rest of it, we'll get figured out. But you aint gotta worry about being safe. I'll take care of you. You just worry about being a bratty kid and leave the rest up to me, all right?"

The concept was so foreign to Spencer. It was also something that a part of him longed for in a way that stunned him. He wanted to let go. Wanted to put this in the feral's hands.

Staring down at him, Spencer hesitated only a second longer before he gave the tiniest of nods. He didn't say a word and Logan seemed to understand that. He smiled up at Spencer and gave his scales a soft stroke before moving his hand. "All right, then. C'mon, pup, let's get up and get ready. It's time to get our asses off this ship."

 _/Sounds good to me/_ Spencer sent. He let Logan move the blankets and then gave a few flaps of his wings to lift himself up off the man's chest. He settled down at the edge of the bed and Logan tossed the blanket over him right as Spencer started to shift. It ended with the young boy sitting there, blanket draped over him. Logan was already rising and moving over to their bags. A second later he was tossing clothes Spencer's way. "Go on and get dressed. I'm gonna go out and make sure everything's set up for us to head out. You mind gathering up our stuff for me?"

"No problem, Logan."

"Good." Logan's grin flashed, bright and sharp, and Spencer couldn't stop his own shy smile. He watched as the feral left the room and the door shut behind him.

There were so many uncertain things in Spencer's future. He had no idea what they were really going to do here or how it was all going to work out. He didn't know how they were going to pay for anything, or how they'd get food, or even where they were going to sleep that night. And, oddly enough, he found that he was okay with that. Logan would take care of it. He'd taken care of everything else so far—he'd take care of all this too.

Spencer felt strangely light as he started to dress himself. This whole thing might prove to be not so bad after all.


End file.
